By Holly Nine
October is fire prevention month. Knowing how to prevent a fire or having a safe plan in place for your family to follow in case of a fire is important. Lizemores Volunteer Fire Department visited Lizemores Elementary School on Monday to talk to the students about fire prevention and fire safety. The firefighters read a book about Sparky the fire dog and Sparky told the kids how to help if they see a fire and what to do if a fire happened at their home. The firefighters had on ordinary everyday clothes and then dressed up into their fire gear to show the kids what a fireman looked like when fighting a fire. That way, if the children needed help they knew what to look for and wouldn’t be scared if they saw a fireman dressed in all his gear. The children got to see what a smoke detector looked and sounded like, as well as many of the tools that are used if the firefighters have to fight a fire. The students from preschool all the way to fifth grade were very attentive and listened very well. They all knew the answers to the questions that were asked.
Some important things to know about preventing a fire is to keep all matches, lighters, etc. put up in a safe place where children can’t reach them. If you do not have a safe plan in place with your family, get one and practice it together so if an emergency would happen, each member of your family would know how to get out of the house and to a safe meeting place. Also, make sure that the members of your family, who are old enough, know the physical address for your home. If a family
member needs to call 911, it is important information that the dispatcher will ask so firefighters and emergency personnel will know how to get to your home to help. The children knew stop, drop and roll very well.
At the end of the presentation, a few volunteer students were picked to race the firemen to see who could get a set of fire gear on the quickest. They also raced to see who could roll up the water hose the quickest. That was tricky because the hose kept wanting to fall over. LVFD also went to H.E. White to show those students what to do in case of a fire, but most importantly how to prevent one. The children really enjoyed having the fire department there and learning how to prevent fires. The firefighters enjoyed it as much as the kids did. If you have any questions about how to prevent a fire or need more information on putting a safe emergency plan in place for your family, contact your local fire department or ask a firefighter, they will be more than happy to help you!
